The day would start early and be a fairly tedious one; travel days always are.
Hmmm...
I find that travel days at the
start of the vacation might be tiring, but not tedious. More... exciting?
Later on, or at the end...
Yeah.
When I had my de-briefing call with Andrew, my trip liaison, there was no explanation given but he did say that indeed that would have been much better and he would take it back to the team to look at.
Odd that he hadn't thought of it on his own.
Perhaps the reasons you listed did happen, though.
Beautiful! And so different.
included a “Chaffle”, some yogurt, juice and a piece of fruit from what I recall.
When I first read this, I thought a Chaffle was the yogurt, juice and fruit.
I've seen similar! You can get them at camping stores or online. Like this:
The truck actually left a few minutes later than Hashim wanted to because one of the tires developed a flat overnight. That had to be changed and a new spare one mounted in its place before we could leave.
Better than getting a flat enroute.
1. Might be delayed enough to miss your flight.
And 2...
The roads were very wet and rutted along the way as it had rained pretty heavily during the night.
2... Might have been
wayyyy more messy!
Flat tire in a deep puddle would
not be pleasant.
along the way we did spot the following: Slender Mongoose, Zebra, Buffalo, Giraffe, Wildebeest, Topi, Impala, Lion, Warthog, Zebra, Marabou Stork, Secretary Bird, Lilac Rollers, Guinea Fowl, Francolins, Black-backed Kite, Hamerkop, Elephant, Brown/Meyer’s Parrots, and Wooly-necked Stork.
Holy cow! (note... you didn't say you saw one of those.)
I am shocked that you saw all of that
just on the drive to the airport, vs actively seeking them out.
I went out and spent a couple hundred bucks on a new duffel bag to keep within the allowed specs only to show up at the airport to see this:
At first I thought "Guess you didn't need to buy a new bag." But then I thought... maybe the people handling the bags are cursing the people with suitcases under their breath. Or... if you
hadn't followed the rules, someone (possibly
you) might have had their bag left behind due lack of space. There's only so much room on a plane. I'm betting if there'd been too many large bags,
yours would be one that would
not be bumped.
I can't tell... is that clay? Or thread? Or...?
Really do look like ants... and so many!
Nothing bad happened, it just seemed a little chaotic and I was glad to get finally settled at one of the little airport “cafes” past security.
chaotic how?
took some time to leisurely enjoy the packed lunch that Usawa had packed for me: A little wrap with beef and carrots, chips, fresh fruit, a cookie, and a juice box.
I'm impressed. They sent you with a breakfast...
and provided lunch, even though you were no longer under their care.
Up to then, I hadn’t bought a Massai Necklace and I really still wanted one. The prices were not unusually high and I was fine with what they were charging, but unfortunately, they didn’t have the style or colors I was really looking for.
I do the same... but I usually find that by not buying something, I often come to the conclusion that I really didn't need it in the first place.
And then it was time to be off to Zanzibar- a completely different experience in every way possible as you’ll see.
Dense!
A word of caution: I’ve never experienced this before but your rental in Tanzania will come with only JUST enough fuel to get to the closest gas station. I’m certain that tourists fill the tank full but don’t use it all by the time they return it. It is then drained off and used by whoever can get it and the cycle repeats itself endlessly.
I have two thoughts on this. My initial reaction was "What?!?!?!?" I've rented cars in several countries and the worst I've had is a tank that was 3/4 full and told to fill it back up to there (which you really can't.)
But after thinking about it... I suspect that there's more poverty there (and I'm basing that solely on the video and a couple comments you made... and could be wrong.) So leaving the car with more gas than you started with costs you a bit of money that you'll never miss... but might make a significant difference to the people you rented the car from.
I dunno, maybe it’s petty, but it really irked me that this goes on.
I can see that.
The car was pretty much a crap-mobile. It was very difficult to see out of and the trunk would barely latch shut.
I don't suppose you know what kind of car it was?
Google Maps was perfectly useless in its directions to the hotel which was on the exact opposite end of the island from Stonetown.
Basically, it was a 2 ½-hour drive in Hell with constant re-routings and Google telling me to turn when there was absolutely NO road to turn on.
Oh, geez. That does
not sound like fun... at all.
Here’s an example of the shenanigans that are a regular part of traffic in Stonetown:
I thought it was a one-way street and the truck was going the wrong way... but then figured out it was left-hand driving. But the vehicle to your right, threw me.
Once out of the urban glut of Stonetown, navigating the dark, unlit narrow roads of the villages was even more stressful!
More stressful?!?!?
Driving around Zanzibar is NOT for the weak; I don’t recommend it.
Noted! Not that I expect to get to Zanzibar any time soon.
It was!!! But just wait.... my favorite meal of the WHOLE trip is coming up soon....
ooohhh...
They seemed enthusiastic.
Every time Steppesister raised her camera to her eyes, theirs would roll.
Faintly, yes. And in Swahili, no less.
I delivered. I mean, sure, it was a crappy shot on the fly, but it IS there.
Oh,
fine.
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. So glad you lived to tell the tale![/]
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